(Photo : Getty Images/Ulet Ifansasti)
YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA - APRIL 24: Photographers take photos as Mount Merapi spews pyroclastic flow as the volcanic activity increases on April 24, 2021 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Authorities issued a level three alert since November 5, 2020. Mount Merapi, 2,968 metres high, is known as one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, with an eruption occurring every two to five years.
Indonesia witnessed its most volatile volcano erupt on Friday. It released plumes of ash high into the air and sent streams of lava with searing gas clouds flowing down its slopes. There were no casualties recorded.
According to an official, Mount Merapi, situated at the border of Indonesia's Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, flared up three times on Friday. Hanik Humaida, leading the Center for Geological Disaster Research and Technology Development (BPPTKG), stated the initial discharge transpired at 04.43 AM local time (2143GMT). It ejected hot clouds that reached 3,000 meters away.
Avalanche of Gas and Lava
Clouds of hot ash shot up 1,000 meters. A rockslide of searing gas and lava spilled down Mount Merapi's shaking slopes up to 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) at least six times since the morning as the volcano reverberated, according to Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, reported US News.
Humaida remarked that a throng of strong pyroclastic flows was discharged from the actively growing lava dome in the inner summit crater of the 2,968-meter height of the volcano. A pyroclastic flow is a volcanic occurrence that involves hot and turbulent avalanches of ash, hot lava rocks, and volcanic gasses merged together, reported AP.
The hot clouds enveloped five villages in two sub-districts identified as Pakem and Cangkringan. Humaida wrote in a statement, "We advise residents to remain calm and wear masks if they go outside to reduce the adverse impact of inhaling volcanic ash," reported AA.
Humaida described the volcano's lava dome as rising hastily. This resulted in gas clouds and hot lava to come streaming down its slopes. However, parts of the lava dome are beginning to subside.
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The BPPTKG reported Mount Merapi spewing lava 11 times with a maximum sliding distance of 1,000 meters over the course of six hours. The agency maintains the level of the volcano at Level III or Alert.
Ash enveloped many nearby towns and villages. The volcano has witnessed bolstered volcanic activity in the past few weeks. Ash plumes extended around 1.8 kilometers to the southwest of the volcano prior to dawn.
The Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center of Indonesia did not raise Merapi's alert level. It was already at the second-highest of four levels since it started flaring up in November 2020.
According to the agency, villagers residing on Merapi's fertile slopes are recommended to stay 5 kilometers away from the volcano crater's mouth and need to be aware of the jeopardy of the lava. Mount Merapi sits on the densely populated Java island within proximity to the ancient city of Yogyakarta. It is the most active volcano of over 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. Eruptions featuring gas clouds and lava are frequent.
The volcano's last significant eruption in 2010 recorded 347 fatalities.
Indonesia is susceptible to volcanic activity and earthquakes because it sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
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